Container ban not lifted

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32566, 27 March 1971, Page 1

Container ban not lifted

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 26. Wellington watersiders will continue their/ban on handling consolidated containers in spite of an announcement that the Government will set up an inquiry into containerhandling.

At a stop-work meeting today the watersiders voted unanimously in favour of continuing the ban. The meeting called on the National Waterside Workers’ Federation to inform the national executive of the F.O.L. of the Government’s decision “to renege on its earlier decision to accept the F.O.L. guidelines for working consolidators’ depots.” It also called on the F.O.L. national executive to support the action of the Wellington watersiders in upholding F.O.L. policy. Reaction to the decision to continue the ban was generally, one of dismay. The president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce (Mr A. 'R. Simm) said he hoped the Minister of Labour (Mr Marshall) would stand by his statement that, negotiations to settle the watersiders’ dispute would only take place if the ban was lifted. “Mr Marshall will have the

support of the community,” he said. The watersiders’ ban ‘on consolidated containers was imposed on February 17 after negotiations with freight forwarders over rates of pay and conditions for watersiders in off-wharf depots had broken down. As a result of the ban, more than 6000 tons of cargo in containers has been frozen in Wellington, Auckland and Lyttelton.